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I wish I could get geolite around here, but there isn't a hydro store for miles.

Anyway, my question regards humidity and air exchange inside the fruiting chamber. I realize that to prepare the perlite, you must soak it and strain it with water/peroxide mix. Then, do you simply place the wet perlite OVER the bubble wand(s) and there you have it?

Or do you add more water to the perlite? It seems that the perlite would get quite dry at a rapid rate with the air circulating in it, but if the perlite was really wet, the cakes would not have a firm surface to set on.

Instead of geolite I believe you can use lava rock. Just make sure the water level is one inch below the rock. In this way the wet rock will be moist and more surface to air contact...thus higher humidity.

Yes, put the perlite on top of the bubblewands. The water doesn't evaporate as fast as you'd think. Alot of the humidity that builds up on the walls of your PMP will drip back down into the perlite anyway. You DON'T want your perlite soaking wet. Leave anywhere from 1/2" to a full 1" gap from the top of the perlite to the water level. I just filled mine with water and peroxide AFTER I put the perlite at the bottom. This way I can see the water level from the side of the PMP and know when I need to add more. When I did this, I found I almost NEVER had to add water. I would only add peroxide to freshen things up a bit from time to time.

You don't need to soak and drain the perlite. I just rinsed mine in a strainer to help eliminate some of the dust in it. Dry perlite will wick water up from wet perlite underneath it. Good Luck!

Quote:i8boomers said:Instead of geolite I believe you can use lava rock.

Lava rock SUCKS! It's very heavy and messy and it's harder to get a level surface to place your cakes/casings on top of. Perlite is a much better alternative to lava rock. The one thing I don't like about perlite is that it can be dusty when you're dealing with it dry. You want to avoid inhaling this dust. It's actually little particles of glass floating around ! Use a dust mask when you first open the bag and start messing with it. You can also spray water on it to keep the dust down.

I typically use about 4 or so inches of perlite. At around $10 for a 4 cu ft bag, it's pretty damn cheap! You really just need enough to cover the bubblewands (which should be completely submerged in water). Plus you need the sort of dry perlite on top to wick up the water from the wet perlite below. If all of the perlite is saturated, it will not be able to wick water up into the air.